You may wonder why I have chosen the Apostle Andrew as the first one to be studied in this series on the lives of the Twelve. My reason is simple. Andrew was the first Apostle whom Jesus chose. As we shall see later, Andrew was a sort of successor to John the Baptist. For as John the Baptist introduced Jesus to the nation, so Andrew introduced Jesus to people. He might indeed be characterized as the "introducer of Jesus."

Andrew was the son of a fisherman named John, and a brother of Simon Peter. Actually Andrew's father's name was not "John" as we say the word today but Jonah, the same as the famous prophet. It is not commonly known but Jonah's home town was called, in the time of Christ, some 700 years after the time of Jonah, "Nazareth." Jonah had been the most illustrious citizen ever to have lived in Nazareth. Andrew was born and grew up in Bethsaida, which was not far from Nazareth, but located on the shores of the sea. It was highly appropriate that a family in which the tradition of fishing was passed from father to son, generation after generation, being fisher folk, should be called "Jonah," or as we would say -- "John." Just as the name Smith originally referred to a man's occupation rather than a family name, so the word Jonah was often used in those days from those who followed the fishing trade. John the Apostle was a fisherman first, then an Apostle later. Apparently Andrew thought more about matters of the soul than fishing, for early in his life he left his fishing nets and followed John the Baptist. He walked a long way to come to the place where John was preaching, in a place falled Bethany, across the Jordan River from Judea. Here Andrew found the voice of authority in spiritual matters that he had been seeking. He was not content with the spiritual wickedness, slothfulness and graft which he found in the cities of Galilee and Judea. But here in John the Baptist was a man after his own heart; a simple outdoorsman, rough, homely, who practiced the simple virtues and who lived the life of a man to whom the flesh mattered nothing and worldly acclaim was even less. So Andrew busied himself following and serving John the Baptist. He learned from him that some day, soon perhaps, the promised King would arrive. The Jewish minds this King was known as the "Messiah," which is translated by a Greek word, "Christ."

"So, after a while, when he had heard John preach, and had seen the throngs of people flocking out of the cities of Judea seeking spiritual aid; after he had assisted in baptizing many because they wished to die to the old way of life and become alive to a new one, Andrew was prepared for an event which would radically change his life.

One day, when the popularity of John was at its height and yet while there was also growing a great antagonism on the part of Herod which was eventually to result in John being thrown in prison and finally executed, there came among the crowd seeking baptism, Jesus of Nazareth! And when John the Baptist saw his cousin, Jesus, he stopped his preaching and turned the attention of the crowd toward that lonely, solitary figure and said;

"Behold, the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world! This is He of whom I spoke. This is the anointed one, the Messiah, the coming Prince."

Andrew, who heard these words, had been seeking more than just the message of John, for John's message was delivered within the framework of the old revelation. John was the last of the prophets and he preached merely an ethical righteousness. But now, here was the one to whom John referred. Here was the Christ! So Andrew immediately left John and attached himself to Jesus. It is likely that John, the Apostle, who was also now a follower of John the Baptist, followed Jesus, too.

At this stage, neither Andrew nor John were disciples of the Christ. They were merely followers -- that is, interested on-lookers who are willing to go along to observe. So Jesus took them back to Nazareth with him, after His 40 days of temptation in the wilderness following his baptism. There they were permitted to accompany Him to a family feast in honor of a marriage at Cana of Galilee, just six miles from Nazareth. There they saw Him perform His first miracle. Then He took them on a preaching tour up and down Galilee, and even down to visit Jerusalem where they saw Him cleanse the Temple. But not during any of this time were they His disciples. They were merely His interested followers. Finally, they returned to Galilee and went back to their old task of fishing. We do not know how long the time passed, but one day Jesus came into the coasts of Galilee and there Jesus found Andrew.

We have often heard Peter referred to as "The big fisherman." That he was, but so was Andrew. We have often heard the words of Christ to Peter quoted; "Follow me and I will make you to become fishers of men." But we must remember that these words were spoken to Andrew as well as to Peter, for they were invited to become fishers of men, a plural reference. In my opinion Andrew merited this title more than even Peter. Or to be fair to both let us say that Peter was the fisherman of men enmasse and Andrew was a fisher for individuals.

Now at last Andrew had been enrolled as a Disciple of Christ and there followed approximately two and one half years of instruction. His name was incribed upon the original list of the Twelve Apostles. He was present at the Feeding of the Five Thousand by the Sea of Galilee, where his name is mentioned in connection with the lad who had the five loaves and two fishes. He was also present at the Feast of the Passover and introduced many who wished to see Jesus, to the Master. On the Mount of Olives Andrew was present with Peter and inquired diligently about the destruction of Jerusalem and the end of the world. His name is listed in the Book of Acts. That is the last record we have of him in the New Testament. Yet we cannot but realize that he was present and ministered to the New Testament church in Jerusalem. Each time we read a reference to that church and the elders or apostles, we must also read in his name, for he belongs there. Just when Andrew left Jerusalem is not known. Perhaps he went out as a missionary on his own accord, or perhaps he was driven out by the persecution which arose, which was aimed at the leaders of the church more than the rank and file.

There are some impressive traditions about the later ministry of Andrew. One is that he went to Scythia, which is southern Russia, or the area around the Black Sea. St. Andrew was known for a long time thereafter as the patron saint of Russia, and this adoption of his sainthood was based upon the early tradition that he had preached the Gospel in Russia.

Another strong tradition places his ministry in Greece. There, according to tradition he was imprisioned, then cruciified by order of the proconsul Aegeates, whose wife had been estranged from him by the preaching of the Apostle Andrew. Supposedly, he was crucified on a cross, which instead of being like the one upon which Christ died (which was a sort of a letter "T" with an added beam on top for a head rest) was made in the form of an "X." To this day that type of cross is known as "St. Andrew's Cross."

There is a third legend about the ministry of St. Andrew which describes him as spending time in Asia Minor, where John is supposed to have written his Gospel in consequence of a revelation given to Andrew.

Now it would seem, at first glance, that these three traditions are contradictory, but I find them mutually complimentary. After all, Andrew had to minister somewhere in the world, and if he did not die in Jerusalem it is very likely that he went to Asia Minor to be with John. Or if for a while he went on beyong Asia Minor to Scythia, that too is reasonable. Then perhaps he returned to Asia Minor because it is the natural land bridge between Russia and Greece. There it is possible that Andrew labored for a while in and around Ephesus and then finally went to Greece in his latter years. There in the northern part of Greece he may well have preached, as tradition says, and have so angered the governor by winning his wife to faith in Christ that the governor, in seeking revenge, caused this preacher of the Cross to die himself upon the Cross. It was not at all unusual for noble people, especially the wives of nobles, to be converted to Christianity. I find nothing in this tradition that is impossible or incredible. There are some medieval forgeries, however, about the life and ministry of the Apostle Andrew which are beyond belief. At least they do not have much truth in them. There is the story that it was revealed to him that the Apostle Matthias, (the one chosen to succeed Judas), had been imprisoned by cannibals. Andrew was commissioned to go and set him free. After a miraculous voyage, he arrived on the scene and was instrumental in releasing Matthias and then converting the entire cannibal population, except for a few incorrigibles, to Christianity, by means of spectacular miracles. Now such a story is plainly a child's version of some sort of fairy story. Nevertheless, there may be indeed a grain of truth in the fact that Andrew, true to his character as a personal soul winner, interested in rescuing people, may have actually helped one or the other Apostles, perhaps Matthias, to be rescued from some difficult situation. And thereby winning Matthias' captors to Christ, Andrew may have actually have had some sort of adventure, although not in the fantastic extremes as described by this legend.

At the time of the Emperor Justinian, relics of the Apostle Andrew were discovered in Constantinople. This city, the capitol of eastern Christianity for the first thousand years of Christian history, would be the natural depository of Christian relics from southern Russia, and Asia Minor, as well as Greece. For, in fact, Greek martyrs often had their relics transported to the Capitol of Greek Orthodox Christianity, which was Constantinople. At any rate, the people of that day believed the relics of Andrew had been discovered. Among them was his arm. This was transported to Scotland by a Christian named St. Regulus, in the fourth or fifth century. There it was buried at a place which was later called, "St. Andrews." Andrew is today the "patron saint" of Scotland, and St. Andrews' Cross is the official symbol of that great Christian country.

One cannot escape the feeling that here was a peerless Christian missionary, a man who began to win people to Christ even before he himself became enlisted as a Disciple. Andrew's greatest contribution to Christianity may well have been the time that he won his own brother Peter to follow Christ as an interested onlooker before the two of them were challenged to become fishers of men.

Here was a modest man, a happy man, a busy man, a man whose life has been too long slighted by living in the shadow of his more illustrious brother Peter, and yet a man of whom only words of praise can be offered. His name means "manly," and there was no more manly Apostle than he. In fact there must have been something so striking about his manhood that he was a compelling personal soul winner who attracted men, not to himself, but to his Master -- Christ. The world could well use more men like the Apostle Andrew.

What Became of the Twelve Apostles by William Steuart McBirnie, pp. 6-12.